This invention relates to a method and apparatus for playing a board game in which competing players, by means of skill and chance, move a plurality of playing pieces from starting positions to destination zones and thence off the board.
Numerous board games have been created in which two players must move their respective playing pieces in different directions across common territory in order to achieve an ultimate goal, e.g., relocation of all of one's pieces to a remote part of the board. As opposing pieces gain proximity to one another and compete for spaces on the board, confrontations arise in which one player can move his pieces in such a way as to remove one or more of his opponent's pieces from the game, either temporarily or permanently. Examples of this type of game include checkers, chess, and backgammon.
Games of this class have long enjoyed popularity among players of all ages. However, few of these games have combined the factors of skill and chance in the exact proportions necessary to make a particular game not only easy to learn but also continually challenging and entertaining after many hours of play. In some games, e.g., backgammon, the outcome is determined largely by chance, and skill is of little value. Unfortunately, experienced players tend to find that such games, for this very reason, eventually become rather routine and uninteresting. In other games, e.g., chess, the outcome is determined entirely by skill. But because one must master complex strategies in order to succeed, the inexperienced or casual player all too often becomes frustrated and discouraged with such games.